By Jel Santos The Turkish Red Crescent Society recently donated P3,298,312 to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to help the victims of the onslaught of typhoon "Vinta" in Bukidnon and Lanao Del Sur. Reports said more than 200 people died, while 143 have been declared missing. The missing individuals were believed to have been buried in landslide triggered by the downpour. Philippine Red Cross (Manila Bulletin) PRC secretary general Atty. Oscar Palabyab and assistant secretary general Elizabeth Zavalla accepted the donation. It was handed by the Turkish Red Crescent Society delegation led by Utku Akbas, head of Disaster Response and Management for International Programs, and Teyfik Cem Binatli, executive officer in International Programs Department. “The donation will be used to provide food packs to 4,600 families in the municipalities of Kitao-Kitao and San Fernando in Bukidnon and the municipalities of Magdalum and Tugaya in Lanao Del Sur,” PRC said. Also present in the turnover ceremony were International Relations and Strategic Partnerships Office acting manager Norwina Eclarinal, finance director Ma. Ana Buensuceso, as well as Turkish Red Crescent's Armagan Pekkaya, head of Production and Digital Media, and Ozgur Altinay. The donation of the Turkish Red Crescent Society, according to PRC, is response to their earlier call to provide humanitarian aid to over 500,000 individuals affected by flash floods and landslide in the country. In December 2017, The Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) donated $280,000 (about P14 million) to PRC for the victims of Vinta’s devastation. PRC chairman Richard Gordon, in an earlier interview, has also expressed gratitude to the Manila Bulletin for its donation of P1 million, saying it has paved the way for others to help. Gordon recalled the generosity and kindness of Manila Bulletin’s late chairman, Don Emilio T. Yap who always helped victims of calamities.